Express distribution firm Gati has ramped up its network capacity by 20-25 per cent by adding 100 line haul trucks to its flexi network to connect the demand locations besides scaling up workforce by at least 15 per cent, a release said on Tuesday
The move is aimed at cutting down the dwell time further view of the huge spike in demand during the festival season, which is considered a stress-test time for supply chain players, it said.
Moreover, to cater to the festive demand more efficiently, Gati Air has bolstered its network by partnering with leading airlines providing direct connections to 28 commercial airports in India. This is third direct airline engagement this year, strengthening network connectivity to 34 commercial airports, the company said.
The additional trucks in the special flexible network based on the market and route dynamics, will connect the key locations to ease the pressure of servicing the demand, it said, adding the network will reduce dwell time from existing 9 per cent to 5 per cent.
As many as 19 such grid locations including Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Indore and Kolkata have been identified for the purpose, Gati, which is the Allcargo, said.
We are ready to meet the increased demand during the upcoming season. The network capacity will be enhanced by 20-25 per cent while the workforce will be strengthened by at least 15 per cent, Charles Devlin D’Costa, Chief of Supply Chain Operations, Gati KWE.
He said the company is looking to leverage at least 20 percent of existing facilities further to manage the peak season load.
Overall, we expect a 15 per cent increase in productivity per person. We are tech-enabled, especially in the area of artificial intelligence, to meet the purpose. We have set up a monitoring system already in place to ensure a better transit time for the customers. Our aim is to ensure a 95 per cent plus delivery efficiency, D’Costa said.
As part of digitalisation, Gati has implemented an enterprise system across the organisation called GEMS to streamline information flow, besides incorporating customer-centric tools and technologies to significantly reduce turnaround time, it said.
With the upcoming festive sales offered by e-commerce companies, Gati said it has geared up for the big box deliveries of white goods and FMCG products.
The company has a network of 1,800 business partners, including small and new age players and added 369 franchises to cater to the spike in e-commerce during the festival season. Business partners utilise the Gati facilities while the franchises have their own facilities, according to the release.
During the festival season, there is a space crunch with airlines giving high volume movements by ecommerce players driven by 2X – 4X volume growths due to lucrative deals offered on all products. To hedge the impact, Gati Air has kept options open to move cargo with all leading airlines by having direct and indirect contracts via certified airline agents, said Amit Mande, business and operations head for Air Express and SCM at GATI-KWE.
The company has a trained and dedicated operations team, having a presence at all prominent commercial airports working 24×7, 365 days with a focus on enhancing customer delight, Mande said.
Gati Air aims to provide the fastest and highly reliable connectivity with best in class turn round time to its customers by connecting directly to all commercial airports and giving access to all Indian locations with multi-modal networks.
